Piezoelectric Energy Flooring Concept Lets You Walk All Over It

Now here’s a concept design for airports, festivals, or any other high-traffic environment: the Eco-Energy Flooring System. This series of floor pads by designer Stephen Chan Wing Tak uses piezoelectricity–the electric polarization in a substance resulting from the application of mechanical stress–to power OLED floor signage.

According to Yanko Design, the Eco-Energy Flooring System pads make use of the pressure applied by people walking, running, or even rolling their suitcases, bikes or skateboards over them to put the squeeze on a number of piezoelectric blocks. Energy generated by this process is stored on a paper battery system, then released to power energy-efficient OLED lights, which then light the floor up in a series of pre-programmed letters and/or numbers–directing people to baggage claim, for instance, or the beer tent.

image via Yanko Design

The top layer of the Eco-Energy Flooring System is water resistant, sealed with ultra-sonic welding to prevent moisture from entering; below that is the OLED programmable light board; below that, sponge material working as cushioning, distributing force and pressure to the piezoelectric crystal blocks beneath, separated from the paper battery and the lower housing on the bottom by a layer of PCB board.

Susan DeFreitas has covered all manner of green technology for EarthTechling since 2009. She is a graduate of Prescott College for the Liberal Arts and the Environment, and has a background in marketing green businesses. Her work on green living has been featured in Yes! Magazine, the Utne Reader and Natural Home.

Brilliant but good luck getting that to catch on in the USA what with our “leaders” who are more concerned with power and money than they are creating a energy efficient country or anything else that makes sense for our planet as a whole.